


I feel like Prey, I feel like Prayin'

by MainlyCatarsis (no5sehun)



Series: NCT Exy AU! [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Exy (All For The Game), Alternate Universe - Sports, Blood, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, Misunderstandings, Praise Kink, Rivalry, only a little bit honestly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:07:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27502792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/no5sehun/pseuds/MainlyCatarsis
Summary: How did they get to this point where his nose is bleeding when the final whistle blows, it’s a mystery to many, but not to Jaehyun. It could have been Ten’s fault, as he shoots the ball straight to his face to see if he could score one last goal; maybe it was Jaehyun’s fault for taking off his helmet a second before the game was over, he knows for sure that it was Yuta’s fault for provoking him.or Jaehyun is a Fox and Yuta is a Raven. Therefore they have to hate each other, right?
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Nakamoto Yuta
Series: NCT Exy AU! [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009974
Comments: 9
Kudos: 28





	1. Everything Changed When The Birds Came

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I really really was obsess with AFTG, and people talking about NCT and sports made me do this. plus rivals Yujae yes! 
> 
> You can check the players profiles [here](https://twitter.com/mainlycatarsis/status/1325920600167129088). 
> 
> You don't necessarily need to know how exy works, but it helps! 
> 
> Also the title comes from Prey- The Neighborhood!

How did they get to this point where his nose is bleeding when the final whistle blows, it’s a mystery to many, but not to Jaehyun. It could have been Ten’s fault, as he shot the ball straight to his face to see if he could score one last goal; maybe it was Jaehyun’s fault for taking off his helmet a second before the game was over, he knows for sure that it was Yuta’s fault for provoking him. 

\------

Jaehyun doesn’t really remember when this whole rivalry started, he guess it is something embedded in you when you join the Foxes, you just have to loathe the Ravens. It should be in the welcome package, you get your uniform, a water bottle, your protective gear, and hatred for anything that comes from Edgar Allan. His first year as a goalkeeper for the Foxes, he just knew he needed to shun every single one of the Raven’s players, but especially he knew he was going to despise Nakamoto Yuta. 

Yuta, who has a smirk on his face wherever he goes, who holds himself so high. Yuta who scores 3 goals on Jaehyun on the night of his debut, it’s humiliating. It’s weird because he doesn’t hate Johnny or Jungwoo who he knew from High School; they were his teammates, he knows their morals and ethics. Now, Yuta, he doesn’t know a single thing about him, and he doesn’t really want to. To even think that they could have become teammates if he had accepted going to the Evermore Castle before going to the Foxhole Court. 

In his first game against the Ravens, they lost 3-1, and really that is a normal score; Jaehyun has lost for much more before, that is not what bothers him. What does it’s that as he is leaving the court he hears them talking, especially Yuta saying something along the lines of  _ “....I should score more goals on him next time, shouldn’t I?” _ . And Jaehyun can handle losing, he has learned with time, that you are not going to win all the time. What he hates, it’s people boasting about winning against him. They are lucky, Yuta is, that Sicheng grabs his arms as he is about to go to the other team and cause a scene. Sicheng, who has become his really good friend as soon as they got the first team, who is a first-year just like him.  _ “It is not worth it Jae, let’s go, yes?” _ Yuta is so lucky, maybe next time not so much. 

\------

It’s the beginning of the season, and they failed to make it to the Regionals last season, but Jaehyun is convinced this year they have a chance; they have not lost any of their first 4 games. Now, they are playing the Ravens at Castle Evermore next week, so that’s something to look forward to. 

_ “Ok, let’s focus!”  _ Taeyong says, and Jaehyun is so lucky to have him as a coach, he is really a calming but passionate voice in the middle of all the chaos at the court. “ _ Three days until the game. Jeno do you want to come and explain to the rest some of the strategies we went over yesterday?” _ . Jeno is one of the reasons why Jaehyun is so confident this year, not only him but all the first years are incredible, Renjun and Jeno are two of the best additions they could have asked for. They run over some of the plays, first-team as usual: Renjun and Mark as strikers, fast as they can be, Lucas and Sicheng as back liners, strong but also fast and witty; they have Jeno as a dealer, everything that they need to keep the game going whether they are winning or losing. Jaehyun is in his usual spot, the goal, where he belongs. “ _ Okay, that’s all for the talk, let’s go to the court and practice”  _ Taeyong finally says before he adds _ “Jaehyun, would you mind staying back for a minute”  _

_ “Sure coach, is there a problem?” _ And there could be so many, the 2 goals he let in last game, the way he couldn’t run faster than the goalkeeper from USC Trojans on their friendly last time, she was just so much faster. The way that Jaehyun gets in his head sometimes before a big important game. As if he is not good enough, as if the Goalkeeper of the Year Awards that are in his dorm weigh nothing. 

_ “Not really, I just…” _ and Taeyong is like that sometimes, a friend, a colleague, not just a simple coach. He really rakes the job of making everyone in the Foxes feel like family seriously  _ “It's just that you almost fought with one of them during last season right?” _ Damn Sicheng, he was the only one who knew.  _ “You don’t have to hate them okay? They are our rivals, and I know the history, but it’s all good..”  _ How is he supposed to tell the coach that he is wrong, that not all is good?  _ “Don't get a red card, Jaehyun, we can’t afford to lose you.”  _ Taeyong says as he leaves the room, working as well as an invitation for Jaehyun to follow and start practice. 

\------

“ _ We got this! We can do it! Don’t let them intimidate you!”  _ Jeno says, and they can, it feels different this season. It’s half time on their game against the Ravens and they are winning 4-2. Haechan, the Raven’s first-year dealer scored one goal, Mark had warned them about him; apparently, they went to High School together, and Haechan is just  _ holy fucking good, a pain in the ass but good _ to put it in Mark’s words. The other goal was scored by Ten, the team's oldest striker, an art prodigy who somehow found his way in the court. Luckily for Jaehyun, Yuta has not been able to score a goal yet, and if Jaehyun was heard by the gods that morning it will be that way until the end of the game. 

When the clock hits the 86:00 minutes mark, someone body checks Ten, it was most likely Lucas. Maybe he was a little too enthusiastic and the game had to be stopped for a few seconds, not before giving him a yellow card. Maybe the gods did not hear Jaehyun that morning because Yuta is approaching him while everyone is on the half-court. _ “I have not been able to score a goal, I liked the way your face looked the last time I did that” _ . And Jaehyun must resist, he knows that Yuta is just provoking him. He thinks of Sicheng and how disappointed he would be for Jaehyun to be involved in a fight, he thinks about Jeno who will have to face the press afterward; he thinks of Taeyong saying we need you and asking him not to get a red card. He tries to calm down, he really does. 

_ “Why don’t you like me?”  _ He asks because honestly, that's better than breaking Yuta’s nose. If all he is being the bigger person and not fighting, he would not get into whatever Yuta is planning. Yuta looks at him a little confused, and Jaehyun would believe the expression of confusion that is spreading on his face if Yuta wasn’t such an asshole on the regular. But then the Referee is blowing the whistle for the game to begin again, and Jaehyun is left without an answer. 

The clock hits the 89:00 mark when Yuta finally answers  _ “I never said I didn’t like you...I think you’re hot” _ and that little shit smirks as he continues to run around the goal. Jaehyun can’t believe him, he can make fun of him for losing, for letting 5 goals in, but not for being attracted to men. Screw thinking about his teammates, he is going to fight Yuta. As he is taking off his helmet, he also hears Yuta scream  _ “Ten, now!” _

And that’s how Jaehyun finds himself on the floor, surrounded by his teammates, coach, and Joy, their team nurse; and blood running down on his nose. The game is over and they won, but Jaehyun can’t do much except to stay still and pray that his nose it’s not broken. The only other thing on his mind is different ways to absolutely ravage Nakamoto Yuta. 


	2. It's a Bloodsport

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun is not an idiot, years and years of Exy has given him what his friends in High School called a ‘fit body’. But the idea of Yuta finding him attractive terrifies him, because now the wheels are turning on his mind and he can’t stop; after a wave of thoughts maybe he doesn’t want to stop. Great, he can’t wait for the dreadful event the Fall Banquet is going to be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yes hello! It's been like 10 days because I've been super busy with work. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!!!
> 
> Title comes from: Bloodsport - Raleigh Ritchie

It’s late September which means that they are really close to regionals. Foxes are almost there, Jaehyun is sure they can win them this year; even go for the Nationals if they are lucky . They have not lost a single game in the season yet, and even now they are improving so much. It's just that late September means that October is almost there, and with that month comes the Fall Banquet. That means that they have to see the Ravens outside of court.

_‘I never said I didn’t like you...I think you’re hot’_ keeps replaying in Jaehyun's mind over and over again. It’s been a couple of weeks and he can’t still understand exactly why those words came out of Yuta’s mouth. He wants to believe that Yuta is not a homophobic bigot, after the incident, he might hate his guts but his brain doesn’t want to go that way. 

When he told Mark, his roommate, what happened; he found out that Yuta is actually bisexual. _“Yeah. I don’t think that’s the case dude.”_ Mark had told him when he thought Yuta was making fun of him _“Haechan told me he is into dudes, maybe he does find you hot”._ First, why does Mark talk so much to Haechan, and second Yuta wouldn’t think he is hot; would he? 

_“Am I hot, Mark?”_ he says one night while they are watching the latest US Court game. And maybe he forgets that his roommate is not following his thoughts and doesn’t know that Jaehyun has been thinking about Yuta, and being attractive to him; just forgets in general that the last conversation they had about this was almost two weeks ago. So the natural reaction of Mark of turning around with round eyes and one two tiny peanuts on his hand and now three on the floor is normal. 

_“Um, what?”_ Mark says as he completely turns around to face Jaehyun. _“I mean yes dude...”_ and Mark is using the voice he normally uses when he is about to have an uncomfortable but important conversation; when someone asks him a question they must know the answer to, yet they are expecting a different answer from him. Like that time a reporter asked him about Jeno’s captaincy, and if he was jealous about it; only this time the frown on Mark’s face is not because he is upset, but it looks more like disbelief. 

_“I don’t know...yes...you must know. Right?”_ Jaehyun doesn’t really know anymore, there are so many things on his mind at the moment that don’t necessarily make sense. _“That you are…”_ and Mark throws his hand at him, pointing at Jaehyun like it is obvious what he is talking about; it is not to Jaehyun _“well you”_. And just like that the conversation seems to be over. 

Jaehyun is not an idiot, years and years of Exy has given him what his friends in High School called a ‘fit body’. But the idea of Yuta finding him attractive terrifies him, because now the wheels are turning on his mind and he can’t stop; after a wave of thoughts maybe he doesn’t want to stop. Great, he can’t wait for the dreadful event the Fall Banquet is going to be. 

* * *

_“No fights today! We are here to have fun, mingle and eat”_ Taeyong tells the groups at the bus before they get to the hall where the Banquet is being held. If he looks straight at Jaehyun when he mentions fighting, everyone ignores it. Everyone looks good, got their suits tailor made for events like this one, where reporters will take pictures of them and ask insufferable questions, he sometimes almost feels bad for Jeno and Mark having to handle all the press. 

Jaehyun cannot make any promises, he doesn’t want to get a disappointing look from Taeyong, but he really can’t guarantee he will be at his best during the whole night. He has been on the edge for weeks and seeing the Ravens again is going to make it a thousand times worse. 

One hour into the banquet and at least three glasses of champagne, Jaehyun is running on overdrive. He is supposed to be talking to Sicheng, but in reality his mind has decided to only focus on Nakamoto Yuta, who is sitting two tables across from him. Sicheng stopped trying to talk to him after the second time he asked _‘Are you listening to me?’_ , ditched completely and started talking to Lucas instead. 

So now his mind is blank of distractions and can only focalize on the striker. How good his suits looks, all black, shirt and tie the same. Jaehyun wonders if he would look good with that many piercings in his ear; wonders if Yuta takes them all out to practice and puts them back on after. He is curious if it hurt to get them, if Yuta liked it. He chugs another glass of champagne and stands up. 

_“What did you mean when you said that I was hot?”_ Jaehyun really needs to stop assuming that people know what is going through his mind before he speaks. After power walking all the way to the Raven’s table and standing right next to where Yuta is sitting, that is the first thing that comes out of his mouth. He sees Ten and Johnny laughing, not even trying to hide it at that point. He sees Yuta looking at him with curious eyes, as if he had not had a single thought that involved Jaehyun in the past few weeks.

Jaehyun feels like the blood is draining from his body; what if the only one thinking about it was him, what if Yuta had really meant it as a joke. If he really humiliated himself in front of the Ravens he is going to quit Exy, never make it to US court, and become an accountant or something. He just won't be able to face them again. 

_“Um...maybe we want to talk somewhere else.”_ Yuta tells him, as if he is not enjoying Jaehyun embarrassing himself in front of everyone. He sees Yuta stand up, with his perfect suit, black hair that matches the rest of his outfit, the piercings on his ear. Jaehyun is screwed.

_“Follow me”_ sounds like an order, as if Jaehyun is going to walk the other way. He wouldn’t, he can’t. He has been thinking about Yuta for weeks, if he has to see him at least he is going to get an answer and hope for his mind to pass the page. To forget about Yuta altogether, to go back to just hating his guts to death. 

That is how he finds himself walking behind Yuta to what it looks like one of those hallways to usually find on your way to the bathroom at any big fancy banquet hall. He thinks he can hear faintly Taeyong in the background trying to stop him, he must have followed him to the Raven’s table back then, and Doyoung telling him that it is okay. Jaehyun really needs to stop acting on impulse so much, what exactly does he hope to get from this, he is an idiot. He has to think quickly. If he pretends to be drunk maybe Yuta will forget he even asked. 

When they finally get to a little hallway where there is no one around, Yuta leans on a wall like he is just about to have the most casual conversation with one of his friends. As if this is not what has been on Jaehyun’s mind for weeks, he hates him. He could maybe get away with punching the smirk out of his face now that they are all alone. He settles for the opposite wall, a little bit of distance so his fuzzy brains don't get any funky ideas. 

_“So..I think you’re hot”_ Jaehyun is going to punch him, he can get away with it. _“What’s there to explain?”_

There shouldn’t be anything to explain, that’s his problem. He rubs his hands all over his face, as he is about to explain to a 5 year old why two pints of ice cream is not breakfast. _“Why did you say it?”_

_“I don’t know, because you are”_ Yuta says as if it was that simple _“Is this like a kink of yours? Do you want to be praised?”_

“ _That’s not it”_ It isn’t really. If Jaehyun is thinking about Yuta telling him sweet words right on his ear, it’s because of the 4 glasses of champagne he had. 

_“Your ears are red”_ and just like that Yuta is suddenly right in front of him. Being on opposite walls was safe. Jaehyun feels less and less sure of what really is on his mind with how close Yuta is. _“Can I touch them?”_

When in 11 grade Jaehyun was recruited for the ravens he thought they were lying to him, when he decided to join the Foxes instead he didn’t feel like it was real until the first practice. So blame him if Yuta saying he is attractive felt like a lie too. 

But having Yuta right in front of him, mere centimetres from his face, feels very much real to him right now. _“I just…”_ and he doesn’t really know what to say. He does want to know why Yuta thinks he is hot, but he also wishes he could punch off the smirk that is on Yuta’s face as he stares at him.

_“Your face looks pretty when I score goals, Jaehyun.”_ screw Yuta and goal scoring. _“You get all mad...”_ of course he does, that’s a normal reaction. “ _You look like you want to hit me. Makes me wonder what would happen if I were to hit back...”_

Jaehyun has thought about it more than once, leaving a bruise on Yuta’s pretty face. How it would look, if it would turn purple quick. He has dreamt of it too many times. 

_“Makes me wonder how much you can take, Jaehyun…”_ Yuta pretty much whispers to him and fuck; Yuta is definitely not talking about fighting him anymore, is he? _“Would you let me?”_

Jaehyun wonders too. Maybe he has been wondering for a while. He thinks of Yuta on the court scoring goals, of his piercings and how much he would like to tug on them, on how Yuta’s hands would feel on him, if it would leave bruises. 

_“Yes”_ He says, because suddenly that’s all his brain is musing about. 

Yuta kisses similar to how he plays Exy. Rough and quick. Like it is never going to be enough. He is all of the sudden everywhere. He has one hand on Jaehyun’s face, holding his jaw, bordering on grabbing him by the neck. While his other hand is on Jaehyun’s waist, pushing him against the wall, grip so tight that it might even leave a mark. Like Jaehyun might back out any moment. He won’t.

He kisses Jaehyun as if he has something to prove, what exactly he's not quite sure. Jaehyun just feels like all his body is floating, like the roughness of Yuta's mouth on him is enough to drive him crazy, to bruise, yet he doesn't want it to end. 

Yuta bites Jaehyun’s bottom lip before pulling away. And if Jaehyun chases after his mouth, he wouldn’t admit to it, he has humiliated himself too much in one night. _“I think your captain is looking for you”_ Yuta finally says. 

And as if Jaehyun was just getting out of trance he can now hear Jeno faintly calling his name. Probably came looking for him, just to make sure that he and Yuta were not killing each other. Shit, he cannot let everyone know. 

_“I’ll see at the regionals, yeah?”_ Of course he believed they would play regionals together. They always do. _“I’ll make sure to praise you if you don’t let me score any goals”_ Yuta says while touching his ears one last time, and just like that he is gone. Hands on his pockets, walking back to the banquet. 

Jaehyun feels like his head is too heavy for his body out of nowhere. That’s how Jeno finds him, head knocking against the wall. The same wall Yuta had just had him pin to a couple of minutes ago. Jaehyun might be screwed, but can’t wait to play regionals now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've added 'praise kink' because a tiny bit... but ????? 
> 
> Also jkdskadh please someone write more Yujae rivals! We need them 
> 
> [tw](https://twitter.com/mainlycatarsis)


End file.
